NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER 1. Get What You Need [A Play In One Very-Brief Act]
2. Look What You've Done
3. Move On
4. Get Me Outta Here
5. Timothy
6. Come Around Again
7. Lazy Gun
8. Take It Or Leave It
9. Come Around Again
10. Radio Song 1. Get What You Need [A Play In One Very-Brief Act] [Amanda enters from Stage Left and sits at a desk. As the lights rise, her telephone rings.] AMANDA: [Picking up phone] Good afternoon, A Step Ahead. PATIENT: Hi, this is Patient calling. I've got a prosthetic emergency. My foot has cracked and is making a horrible noise with every step. I need Erik to see me. AMANDA: Ok, Patient. You better get in here now. PATIENT: Well, no. I'm at work, so I can't get out today. AMANDA: Well, Erik wants to see you ASAP since this is an emergency. How about tomorrow morning first thing? PATIENT: Actually, I was hoping that I could come in next week . . . Maybe Wednesday or Thursday? [The lights rise stage right and reveal a Greek Chorus, chanting in a monotone.] GREEK CHORUS: NEXT WEDNESDAY OR THURSDAY WILL NOT SUFFICE. IT'S UNWISE TO GO AGAINST MEDICAL ADVICE. IF YOUR LEG IS BROKEN IT MUST GET FIXED STAT. OR ELSE RISK SERIOUS INJURY WHEN YOU FALL FLAT. [Lights fade to black] - Fin - Yes, this play seems ridiculous, but sadly, this is exactly the scenario that we deal with on a regular basis. Please understand that if you are experiencing mechanical problems, Erik advises you to come in immediately, and you do not do so, you are placing your own health at risk. The inconvenience of coming in for treatment does not compare to the inconvenience of suffering injuries because you put off coming here for a week. We always open our schedule for emergency situations to insure that all of our clients' health and safety needs are met. Please make sure that you protect your health by taking advantage of this policy. 2. Look What You've Done Yes, Marcos Corti (BK) and Boubacar Sidiki (HD), look what you've done! You both completed the New York City Marathon earlier this month! Marcos, who is this year's winner of the A.S.P.I.R.E. Athlete of the Year award, capped off his triumphant 2004 by finishing the course in 4:39:19, a remarkable accomplishment for someone who ran his first 10k race only seven months ago! Boubacar, last year's A.S.P.I.R.E. award recipient, completed his second consecutive NYC Marathon in 7:15:38. Congratulations to both! 3. Move On That's what you should be telling anyone who comes to your door or calls your house attempting to switch you from basic Medicare to a Medicare HMO. Over the past few weeks, we have heard stories from several patients describing efforts by some Medicare HMO insurance companies to get them to switch out of basic Medicare (part A, part B), with one particularly persistent insurer sending a representative to the Medicare recipient's door. While we laud these companies for their "go get 'em" spirit, there's only one problem: opting into a Medicare HMO will effectively prevent you from receiving reimbursement for any prosthetic treatment you receive at A Step Ahead. While we are a Medicare provider, we do not contract with HMO's. And when you switch onto a Medicare HMO plan, you are limited solely to its network of providers. So remember the Golden Rule: NEVER switch insurance plans without first speaking to David McGill or Janet MacQueen! The repurcussions of failing to do so can be significant. 4. Get Me Outta Here No, that's not what Erik Schaffer is saying, but he will be out of the office on December 15, 16, and 17. Our office will be open during those days, however, so don't hesitate to call us if an emergency arises. 5. Timothy . . . . . . is not what Sarah Reinertsen (AK) would have been named if she were a boy. (If you hadn't figured it out already, sometimes the headlines bear no relation whatsoever to the text that follows.) However, you can name Sarah extremely cool, just as Runner's World did in naming her one of its 8 heroes in its first-ever "Heroes Issue" (December, 2004). Not only did Sarah make this prestigious list, she graces the cover of the magazine in full color, with real sweat (she assures us -- no Photoshopping!) glistening on her arm. Oooooh. (Click on http://www.ossur.com/template1.asp?PageID=1&newsid=927&Tpl=0 to see the Runners World cover.) Sarah was also featured in NBC's recent telecast of the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon. Having been featured now in print, on TV, and on the internet, Sarah is getting ready to lay claim to the title, "Queen of All Media". 6. Come Around Again Thanksgiving has just ended. The year-end holidays loom on the horizon. What does that mean? It means that summer will come around again before you know it! And with summer, comes skirts, shorts, and sandals. For those of you who find that the glint of titanium and the deep black of carbon graphite falls short of your aesthetic ideal, other solutions exist. A Step Ahead's Skin Tones system provides life-like replication of the missing limb(s). With this system, you can paint your toenails and/or fingernails and wear split-toed shoes, while still enjoying the benefits of high-end, energy-storing or myoelectric prosthetic components. If you don't believe us, check out the Skin Tones Gallery on our website. There you can see real, honest-to-goodness A Step Ahead clients in the flesh (and silicone). Contact us now if you're interested in getting your Skin Tones system before the summer, because appointments disappear more quickly than the Yankees 3-0 lead over the Red Sox this past October. 7. Lazy Gun Our staff stands in stark contrast to a lazy gun. They're all hardworking. They're also all unarmed. We're pleased to announce that we have 2 new employees who are just as industrious and 9mm-free as the rest of us. Theresa Schuh will be joining us on December 13. Before joining our ranks, Theresa worked as a nurse at Winthrop University Hospital here on Long Island. Her unique background and skills will permit A Step Ahead to continue to provide the highest-quality, innovative services on our clients' behalf. In addition, Denny Dukacz has come on board with our Skin Tones department, working hand-in-hand with Glen Nienstadt to produce those wonderful systems referenced in item number 6, above. Denny has spent many years in the prosthetics industry, and is a welcome addition to the Skin Tones team. Make sure to introduce yourself to both Theresa and Denny the next time you come in! 8. Take It Or Leave It We're talking about your dignity, your sense of adventure, your joie de vivre! Take them -- don't leave them -- and drive yourself to Camelback Mountain for the Youth Development Camp, February 10-14, 2005. This ski program is for kids of all ages, and features instructors both from Camelback's Adapted Ski Program and the National Center for Disabled Sports in Winter Park Colorado. It's a great opportunity for a child to meet peers from around the Northeast, ski under the tutelage of the finest instructors around, and have a great time. If you are interested in getting more information about this program, please do not hesitate to contact us, or the Pennsylvania Center for Adapted Sports (www.centeronline.com) directly. The Center is a member of Disabled Sports USA, and is headed by Isabel Bohn (AK). Isabel specializes in water and water-related activities, either the unfrozen type (as Chair of the Adaptive Committee for U.S. Rowing and Program Administrator for the Philadelphia Rowing Program for the Disabled), or the frozen type (as the organizer of the Youth Development Camp). It is our understanding that Isabel's expertise in the field of water extends beyond sports-related activities, as she is apparently able both to drink it (unfrozen), and safely handle ice cubes (frozen). Rumors abound that she will attempt to broaden her command of this liquid by bringing it above room temperature, boiling it for either tea, coffee, or perhaps both! 9. Come Around Again Run or walk on a track, and that's what you'll do after completing 400 meters. There's no better place to do it than Jericho High School in Jericho, New York, and no better person to do it with than David Balsley of ASPIRE. David is an elite trainer of disabled athletes, including Paralympians, and he volunteers his time to head the ASPIRE Activity Clinics every month. These clinics are free of charge, and for amputees of all ages and activity levels. December's date is still pending, but remember to check the "Upcoming Events" section of our website regularly for updates. 10. Radio Song It's holiday season, meaning we have to endure such classics as "Dominick the Donkey", "Wonderful Christmas", and anything Christmas-related from Michael Bolton and Bryan Adams, over our FM airwaves. Our instructions are simple: (1) turn off the radio; (2) walk away from the radio; (3) seal off the door to the room where the radio is located; (4) do not reenter same room until January 3; (5) get in car, and drive to The Hospital for Special Surgery so you can attend the ASPIRE Support Group's Holiday get-together! This annual event takes place on December 15, 2004 at 6 pm. For additional information, visit the "Upcoming Events" section of our website.
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